"The U.S. House will vote on a bill today that would eliminate the Essential Air Service program by 2013 in all states but Alaska and Hawaii."

That news has small cities across the country bracing themselves today. We stay out of politics around here, but today we will make a political prediction: if Essential Air Service funding is eliminated the political fallout will be brutal. Leaders in small cities, both democrat and republican, will assail their federal lawmakers with a vengeance.

Columbia is getting a new EAS airline. EAS in a federal program that subsidizes air service in small communities. In Missouri it includes Joplin, Columbia, Kirksville and Cape Girardeau. In Arkansas it includes Harrison and several other towns. Without EAS, these places would probably not have any commerical air service.

"I frequently fly to west coast. As usual...I can fly out of JOPLIN or FAYETTEVILLE cheaper than Springfield. I usually purchase on cheaptickets.com. At present, for a fall trip, I can fly out of either JLN or XNA for $343.00 roundtrip. It costs $510.00 out of Springfield. Why can they have competitive pricing? Are their markets larger too?"